


Turning The Tides

by Atta651



Category: Brave (2012), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Characters Not Mentioned in The Tags, Rewrite, Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, the big four
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 09:25:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5370161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atta651/pseuds/Atta651
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Change doesn't always mean a huge war. It can be done by the smallest things. Doing what you think is right and keeping to your beliefs when the world is against it. Even changing them when proved wrong. This are the things meant to change the world. Droplets meant to change the tides. And this is exactly what the most unlike study group at Hogwarts gets to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Two Reasons

**Author's Note:**

> Rewrite of the fic and also posted on the FF. First work on AO3, so figuring some stuff out.

**Turning the Tides**

A small round face, framed by an unruly mop of bright red hair, flashed for an instant in one of the windows of the second floor. It disappeared nearly as fast as it appeared, replaced soon after by a satchel bag falling neatly to the floor far below. Before following it, a girl looked apprehensively to the door through which she was able to hear the heavy footsteps coming closer by the second. It was either her father or her mother if the girl had managed to make her angry enough. In any case, it wasn’t in the girl’s best interest to linger there longer. She threw her leg resolutely over the window still, shifting her weight precariously on the edge. Moments later, she leapt out the window.

  
With the ability of someone who has made the same movement thousands of times before, the girl balanced on a huge oak branch conveniently located under her window and from there leapt to the floor. A wicked grin transformed her face into a triumphant mask as she picked up her bag. She wasn’t able to hear a thing from her new position, but she wasn’t about to fool herself into believing she was safe. The girl drove her fingers to her mouth and whistled with all her might. Up in the second floor, the steps became frantic –however was behind had heard her- and finally the door burst open.

  
It meant nothing to the girl, since her whistle had called her loyal stallion and she was encouraging him to go as fast as he could.

  
“MERIDA!”

  
As fast as she was putting distance between them, the girl was still able to hear her mother’s angry cry and see her face poke out of the window she went through moments before. She smirked once more as she urged Angus to run faster, even though they were already far away from her mother’s reach.

  
At eleven, Merida Dunbroch was hardly the daughter that Elinor had hoped would elevate the Dunbroch family. Merida could even picture her right now, ranting about her lack of discipline and respect, and even threatening to cut the centenary oak that grew outside her room as punishment. Of course, it was an empty threat; since Merida’s untamed magic had managed to grow it back twice already. The ancient bark still held scars from those attempts. There was no need to go for a third try.

  
Merida slowed her horse down once she approached her territory, a stretch of woods that separated the Dunbroch lands from the nearest muggle village. She had adopted the place for her own use, distributing targets of varying difficulties, which she would shoot either on foot or on Angus’ back. She boasted she knew every nook of it. It was hers and hers alone. Of course, it wasn’t like she had anyone with which to share it, since the triplets or any of the playdates arranged by her mother were out of the question.

  
Merida shivered, trying to picture the new boy. Elinor would say something on the lines ' _Look who came to visit you_ ' like she didn’t have a hand in setting it up. He would have been part of one important family or another, all pretentious and snobbish, preferring ladylike girls who knew the best ways how to train a kitchen elf to make proper tea and pastries. Like hell was she going to spend her last day at home like that. Particularly since she had to part with her bow and arrows for months. Weapons weren’t allowed on Hogwarts grounds. Security issues and stuff, especially since at least a thousand of in-training wizards and witches with varying control over their magic were allowed to roam free around the castle.

  
Somehow, it also seemed to be the perfect excuse for Elinor to make Merida into more of a proper lady, encouraging her to leave her weapons behind completely. She hadn’t parted with that bow since her father had given it to her! And now she was _supposed_ to leave it at home. Fine. She could _probably_ do that. From there to becoming a proper lady interested in hairdos and the closest cute guy wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. In fact, as quickly as she was able, Merida was going to try out for her House’s Quidditch team. Even if her mother had something to say about it, she wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it.

  
In any case, being able to use her wand was already something she was looking forward to. Fourteen glorious inches of ebony wood with a Phoenix feather core, but she hadn’t been able to touch it again since they bought it at Ollivander’s, like pretty much any other Hogwarts student-to-be. As soon as she had touched the wood, the most amazing sensation had crept over her, making Merida fell like she could do anything in the world.

Then it was taken for her the next second. The wand had chosen her, but it was given to Elinor for safekeeping, in a neat box when the transaction was finished. She wouldn’t get it back until they were back at platform 9 ¾ the next morning.

  
Merida let out a cry in disgust, aiming and shooting her next arrow. It hit the bulls-eye, even when she had to balance on top of Angus to fire the shot. Not being able to even touch your wand? Come on! What was she going to do, burn down the house? That had only happened once! She was little at the time and there was no magic involved. The wand would have been a much better tool for taming her magic than all the temper control lessons.

  
One last arrow on her quiver for one last target. It was a moving mark on a difficult angle. It had taken Merida some time to master it but at least a year had passed since the last time she missed it. However, the best part was that it took most of her concentration, taking her mind off of the playdates, her mother, her wand and even Hogwarts.

  
The arrow hit the center perfectly, again.

  
By that time, Merida and Angus were both exhausted from the exercise and Merida’s mind was far more settled. She leaned forward to murmur in the horse’s ear.

  
“C’me on boy, let’s go back. There’s an oatmeal bag waiting for ye at the stables.”  
Angus neighed happily and took the road back to the main house. After all, the next morning was a great day just waiting to happen.

*****

  
“ _Trahendum motus._ ”

  
The voice was nothing more than a murmur, lost between layers of blankets. In between the thunderous snoring, a heavy chair started to move on its own, a slow and steady movement towards the farthest bed. There, a gawky boy was waving his wand, imitating the motion that his father made sometimes with his fishing rod. The chair followed the movement perfectly and was already past the other bed, coming closer with every thug. However, just as a triumphant smile flashed across his face, the chair tripped and tilted at an impossible angle, which the boy had no way to counteract.

  
_“Glacius!”_ He hissed, afraid the blow might wake up his father.

  
A thin layer of frost covered the chair, freezing it in the position it was. The boy held his breath, waiting. He didn’t relax until he heard the next snore, a sure sign that his father was still fast asleep on the bed next to his.  
The boy sighed and looked to the electrical clock sitting on top the television. The flashing green lines told him that it was still too early to even be awake yet, but he wasn’t remotely close to falling back asleep. He eyed _The Standard Book of Spells_ by Miranda Goshawk, which was still wide open between his arms, but ended up closing it with a soft thud after sighing. His most recent experiment told him that practicing magic wasn’t a great idea in the wee hours of the morning.

  
At last the boy got up, taking the book along. His objective was a large wooden trunk, which took up a great deal of the motel room that he and his father were sharing for the night. Even so, the short barefoot walk didn’t pose much of an inconvenience. On his way, the boy returned the chair he was practicing on to its original position, figuring out what had happened. As it turned out, one of its legs had caught on a dent in the carpet, which caused it to tip over.

  
There wasn’t something wrong with his magic, which was actually a lot more relieving than he had believed it would be.

  
When the boy opened the trunk, instead of tossing the book in it and closing the lid as any normal teenager would do, he started pulling out everything and piling the contents around himself. After he finished, he put them back again, checking every book, every tag on his clothing, and every item. By that time, the boy had already memorized each piece on the supply list and knew very well that he had everything on it. However, there was something reassuring about confirming he was ready. It was as if that way he was making sure nothing _could_ go wrong.

  
The last item on the list he packed was his wand, carefully wrapping it in the same box it had been bought in. Twelve inches of English Oak with dragon heartstring as core. Ollivander had called it Loyal, but the why escaped the boy. It meant something else entirely for him. After all, he and his family had spent years believing he was some sort of squib, since he never manifested any type of magic during his childhood.

  
Getting the letter had been a wonderful and unexpected surprise for his eleventh birthday. It was made even better because he was able to see his father for nearly the first time being as proud of him as he was of his wife. The boy’s mother. She had been a great Auror that fought in the Second Wizarding War and lost her life during the Battle of Hogwarts. And now, by the end of the - according to the clock –day, he would go to the same school as she had, the same way she had done when she was his age.

  
A broomstick rolled over when the boy closed the trunk’s lid. It was a memento of his mother, a proficient Quiddich player. His father had forced him to take it and any complaint had proven useless. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t ride it to save his life or that it wasn’t allowed for first years to have broomsticks. His plan to leave it behind without his father noticing had also failed miserably, so the broom was going to Hogwarts with him. Like it or not. Worst case scenario, the boy would have to give it to a professor for safekeeping until he was allowed to use it.

  
The boy was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he failed to notice that the snoring came slowly to an end.

  
“Hiccup?”

  
Yup. A nickname that had stuck so well that even his father called him that. Not that Hiccup had made much of an effort on shaking it. Just imagine how horrible your name had to be to rather be called Hiccup. This boy had it worse.

  
“D-dad?!” Caught by surprise, Hiccup faltered, dropping the broomstick. “Still ‘bit early. We’re only an Underground ride from King’s Cross.”

  
The huge man weighed this piece of information, checking the clock. Hiccup returned to securing his mother’s racing broomstick to the trunk’s lid.

  
“’Have a long day ahead of ya.” His father said after a while, recapturing Hiccup’s attention. “Thought we could grab a good bite before ya left.”

  
Hiccup was dumbstruck for a second. He expected something of a breakfast to go on some kiosk at the train station, nothing like this. Besides, as far as he knew, meals with his father were scarce and often uncomfortable. His father’s gaze was intent on him, making Hiccup falter. Sure, breakfast with his dad wasn’t something the old Hiccup thrived for, but this time was different. Now he was someone that could make his father proud.

  
“Right, but I’ll take the first turn in the bathroom.” It wouldn’t do any good for Hiccup to get the second turn. His father’s huge beard required a lot of maintenance.

  
It was a while before they were ready and were checked out of the motel. They both continued along the road to find a nice restaurant serving a good Full English Breakfast at that time in the morning. Along the way, some passers stared at them either in amazement or in curiosity, and, as far as Hiccup could tell, it had nothing to do with the fact that they had a racing broomstick secured to a huge and unpractical wooden trunk. It probably had more to do with the fact that said trunk, heavier than its owner – well, honestly, that wasn’t much of a comparison– was carried almost single-handedly by his father.

  
Fine, it was completely carried single-handedly by him, since Hiccup wasn’t providing much help. We’re talking here about a man that earned the nickname Stoic the Vast for himself on the Wizarding community, despite being a muggle.

  
They found a café without losing their vantage point near the Underground stop on the same line as their destination. Stoic ordered immediately, making sure to add an extra helping of guts and glory on the side. The truck was left on the ground, in the least hindering way he could manage. Despite Hiccup’s original enthusiasm, it was too much to expect a single meal to be different from the others. They ate in silence, wolfing down chunks of food.

  
From time to time, Stoic seemed to want to say something but kept returning his attention to the plate in front of him. Hiccup also kept to himself, searching furiously for something to say to his father or the courage to ask him what he wanted to say.

  
“Ya… uhm, ya know...” In the end, it was Stoic the one to break the silence. “Ya’r mother would have been happy today. She always said that ya’ll be a great wizard.”

  
Hiccup raised his head in surprise so quickly that he nearly choked on his mouthful of fried mushrooms.

  
“She did?” As far as he knew, she had feared as much as his father that he was a squib. How could his dad say something like that all of sudden?

  
“Yeah.” His father trailed off, meaning to leave it at that, but something on Hiccup’s face must have betrayed his need to know more. “She said she’ll tell ya all of the castle’s secrets she found out on her time. That ya’ll do great things, like that lad, the one with the scar.”

  
Hiccup’s face lit up at this. Being compared to Harry Potter was far beyond anything he could hope for. He suddenly had an image of him as part of the Gryffindor House like his mother and Harry Potter before him. A true Hero House indeed. This lightened his mood, so he started to ask more and more about his mother. Stoic responded as best as he could; telling him all of what little he knew about the Wizarding World, which he had shared with his wife before for a while. The one he’d been banished from after her death.

  
By the time both their plates were empty, Hiccup was actually sorry to leave and tried to keep the conversation until they reached King’s Cross. However, the subway train proved to be a poor place for secrets, since a couple of other passengers started to follow their words about magic, wands and enchanted castles. They kept silent the rest of the way.

  
Stoic stopped short in front of the wall separating platforms nine from ten. They’d already seen an entirely family disappear through it.

  
“You know that you can go through with me.” Hiccup said, stopping too.

  
Stoic shook his head.

  
“That’s yar world now. Become a great wizard.”

  
He squeezed his son’s shoulder with as much delicacy as he could muster. It was as much of a goodbye as Hiccup was going to get out of him, so he just gave a nod and –after checking no one was looking- pushed the trolley through the barrier.

  
And thus, Hiccup entered the Wizarding World, to find a place where he could belong.


	2. The Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hogwarts Express has always been a a great place for meeting and new beginnings. And maybe some adventures too.

“MuuuUUUm!” Merida whined.

The Dunbroch family on the whole had arrived to platform nine and three quarters with time enough to spare before the departure of the Hogwarts Express. Merida had been in good spirits, glancing around and trying to figure out everything with a glance. Hamish, Hubert and Harris, her triplet younger brothers scrammed off immediately, mixing themselves easily with the multicolored crowd of students, families and pets gathered. She’d made a joke about having to ask the Hogwarts staff to send them back later if they weren’t careful enough, which her mother hadn’t taken too kindly to.

That had been ages ago and she was about to lose her patience at this point.

Merida had hoped to find a good spot on the first wagons of the scarlet steam engine, settle her stuff and watch as the train filled, giving her time to study her peers or just try her hand on the levitating spell. On the contrary, she had tailed Elinor as her mother made a point of greeting everyone and their pet if she found them important or to whom she had an acquaintance with. Then came the process of parading Merida and force her to introduce herself.

Merida had no doubt in her mind that the whole process would have been much more fun if she’d just gone with her father when he was urged to chase the triplets. She did get along well enough with his coworkers after all and they tended to make fun of the more than enough repeated stories of Fergus Dunbroch’s encounters with dragons. Instead she was stuck trying to match names to faces she was sure would forget as soon as possible, even though Elinor pointed out some that had visited their manor in the past.

“Merida!” Her mother scowled. “As a member of the Dunbroch family you’re expected to…”

“Get on th’ train, if ye want me tae arrive tae Hogwarts at all.” She interrupted, tired of the assume-your-responsibilitiesspeech. “An’ we only have a few minutes left.”

True enough, there was a whistle calling everyone on board. Elinor gasped, covering her mouth and searched frantically for her husband, urging him to help Merida load her truck in one of the compartments. Of course, by that time, what should have been a broom’s flight ended up being terrible complicated. Most of the compartments were already taken so they had to settle for one nearly at the end of the train. There was a trunk already in there but no sign to whomever it belonged. Fergus left her daughter’s trunk in the compartment and Merida accompanied them to the door.

“And remember not to pick up fights or be rude to your Professors and…”

“I know.” Merida whined again.

Elinor took her face on her hands and kissed her forehead.

“You’ll do great, I just know it!”

“Thank ye.” Merida said with honesty. It was the only thing she could mutter just before her father pressed both women on a tight hug.

The whistle sounded again and this time the doors closed by magic. The train started to move. Despite her bravado, Merida stayed at the door window waving goodbye, noticing that the triplets had gone missing again. She didn’t return to the compartment until she could no longer distinguish her father’s broad frame from the crowd and the triplets waving to her from the furthest point in the hangar were out of sight. When she did go back, the person occupying the compartment was already there.

A pretty girl of about her age with huge green eyes and a long, thick, blond braid falling on her back had busied herself with a book that wasn’t on the supply list, as far as Merida could tell. At the sight of her, the girl yelped in a way a mouse would have done when surprised.

“Sorry, had tae take th’ other seat. Everywhere else is full.” Merida gave as an explanation. The girl kept quiet, eyeing her with a frightened look. “Could try tae look again though.”

It would have been a pain to move all of her stuff again, without her father’s help and without mentioning finding an empty seat but the girl looked absolutely terrified.

“No, no.” The girl finally spoke, still behind her book. “It’s no problem. You just startled me.”

She seemed honest enough so Merida shrugged her shoulders and took the girl’s word for it. Merida closed the door behind her and got comfortable by putting her feet on the seat besides the girl, watching the houses fly past them. The girl shared her attention between her book and her new companion.

“Mah name’s Merida Dunbroch.” Merida’s first plan had been to leave the girl be but she ended fed up by the stares and silence. “Ye’re a first year, aren’t ye?”

The girl silently nodded but said nothing else. Merida crossed her arms, resigned to spend the whole trip looking through the window.

“My name is Rapunzel Corona. Nice to meet you.” This time, it was the girl that interrupted. “Sorry. I’m just not used to this many people.”

Merida raised her eyebrows. It was just the two of them there. She shrugged.

“Maybe ‘cause thay packed us all on a single train.” Merida said with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Rapunzel did seem to latch onto that and practically starting vibrating on the spot.

“I just really wanted to learn outside the house you know!”

Merida nodded. It wasn’t anything new. Most kids, Merida included, dreamed of the day they would be able to go to Hogwarts, a huge change from being homeschooled.

There was something to it, though. The Corona name did ring some bells on Merida’s head. Probably some of her lessons. Furthermore, if that was the place she had heard the name, it was someone big on the wizarding world.

“’at’s not a textbook though, is it?”

Rapunzel closed the book, using her finger as a bookmark and showed Merida the cover. It was midnight blue with _Depths of the Dream Realm_ by Sanderson Mansnoozie written in glittering gold letters.

“Mum bought it to me when she went for the rest of my supplies. I already read all the texts.”

“Not a light read, either o’ them.” Merida said, more to keep the conversation going than anything else. She had barely looked at the covers as she selected them at the library.

“I had already gone through all of my father’s library. I was going to read _Where_ _There’s a Wand, There’s a Way_ for the fifth time when mum gave me my new books. I just had to.” Rapunzel smiled, hugging her book. “Plus, she subscribed me to the [Flourish and Blotts](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Flourish_and_Blotts) catalog so I can tell her which ones I want next time.”

“Blimey, ye’re serious.” Merida deadpanned. It seemed to put Rapunzel off some so she raised her hands as an apology. “Just not much o’ a reader mahself.”

Rapunzel though about it, finally putting aside her book and leaned towards Merida with big eyes.

“I don’t know much more. When I went to Diagon Alley we went straight to Ollivander’s and then back home.”

Merida blinked in disbelief and Rapunzel looked ashamed.

Oh! So that had been it! The Coronas were one of the oldest wizarding families in Great Britain. Merida couldn’t -and wouldn’t- recall if they were at the level of the Malfoys or even the Blacks, even if the last one’s core had become extinct in the Second Wizarding War or somewhere near there. Definitely above the Dunbrochs, even if they didn’t usually hit the news that much.

Elinor’s comment had been about how little of the Coronas daughter hadn’t been heard of after her rescue from the clutches of the Dark witch Gothel Rosier that ended a three year kidnapping case. Probably for the best that Rapunzel’s family –if she was really her- had kept their distance. At least for Merida. Otherwise, they would have met her as one of the arranged playmates Elinor liked so much to find for her. She would have hated her guts just for that.

On the other hand, however, it left Merida with an utter lack of response.

“Anything of the cart, dears?”

“My! Aye!” Merida jumped over enthusiastically at the interruption.

Merida stocked up with as many Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes she was able to carry so Rapunzel and she entertained themselves by sharing and exchanging the food they had gotten. They had talked their way out of London and a long stretch of farmland when someone burst into their compartment again.

“Yo, Dunbroch! Last place Ah thought Ah see ye!”

As Merida was trying to get her way past a haggis Bertie Bott’s bean via pumpkin juice, her face lit up at recognizing the newcomer. It was an older student with blue eyes, a long and big nose, and lots of puffy black hair.

“On th’ only train tae Hogwarts?” She asked with a smirk. “Didn’t think I’ll see ye ‘till we got tae th’ castle, Mcintosh.”

“Has any Prefect c’me this way?” He asked, looking around the empty corridor. There didn’t seem to be anyone on the other compartment.

“Ye’re th’ first.” Merida rolled her eyes, noticing the not so subtle attempt on Mcintosh to show of the P badge on his chest. “What wanker would’ve cared tae make you Prefect anyway?”

“Beats me.” He shrugged. “Been finding a good place tae try out a little experiment. Care if we come?”

“What kind o’ experiment?”

“Gobstones. Been tryin’ to improve tha game for a while.”

Merida looked at Rapunzel. The girl had kept quiet through all the exchange.

“What do ye say?”

“Me?” She looked like a deer in the headlights.

“It was yer compartment first.” Merida nodded. “There’s a reason why thay don’t want other Prefects knowing what they’re doing.”

“Just tryin’ out a static charm a bloke from Gryffindor suggested.” Mcintosh interjected.

“I’m OK. I… think.”

“On it!” Mcintosh hardly waited for Rapunzel to finish talking before he disappeared though the door to the next carriage.

Rapunzel looked at Merida in amazement. “Do you already know people on Hogwarts? And a Prefect!”

“No biggie. He’s th’ son o’ one o’ mah father’s buddies from th’ Dragon Killers squad. As for Mcintosh, I didn’t know he was a Prefect ‘till now either.”

No sooner had she finished her explanation, Mcintosh returned. He was followed by two other guys, a big dark-skinned guy with a crew cut and a younger one with brown hair and a goatee. All three of them had at least three balls roughly the size of a Bludger. They were made of something glass-like, with swirling colored liquids inside.

“Aren’t those too big tae be Gobstones?”

“Thay’re supposed tae be. One o’ th’ changes we’re trying tae make.”

“Besides, we’re playing on a train.” The guy with the crew cut helped with the explanation. “It’ll do us no good if we have to look for the balls under the seats.”

“Those look dodgy.” It was a soft murmur that no one but Merida could hear, since Rapunzel was watching everything from behind her.

“Well, the Jack Stone seems to be working just fine.” The younger guy said, he had placed the smaller ball with a silver color on a throwing distance from everyone. “I’ll take the red one. House pride and all that.” So he was the Gryffindor Mcintosh was referring to earlier.

“Care to try?” The guy with the crew cut asked Merida, offering her a green ball.

Merida exchanged a look with Rapunzel, who still seemed scared, but all the same took the ball with resolution. She tossed it on the hall, aiming for the silver one. It was a good shot, and thanks to her archery training, she managed to aim it perfectly, even in the moving train. She whooped and offered Rapunzel a big thumbs up.

After her the boys took turns at doing the same thing. The first one was the one with the crew cut that had battled over the blue ball and lost, thus getting an orange one. The second was Mcintosh with the blue one and finally the Gryffindor with the red one.

“Hey Blondie!” Rapunzel jumped at being addressed. The Gryffindor guy held a purple ball for her. “It’s your turn.”

The girl looked at everyone and then back at the ball with the same big dove eyes. She extended her hand, seemed to reconsider it and withdrew it again. The other didn’t seem to be in any rush and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the balls either so Merida gave her an encouraging nod. Rapunzel nodded in response and took the ball.

She aimed for the Jack Gobstone and tossed it. It hit crew cut’s ball, which, as well as the rest, had stayed put where it landed by a spell. It bounced back to the wall at the end and then on one of the compartments. Rapunzel’s ball got closer to the Jack and crew cut’s vibrated a lot for a while but finally stood where it was.

“Hey! Nice shot!” Said Merida, impressed by the feat. She responded to the same signal she had given Rapunzel before.

“Was that supposed to happen?” asked the Gryffindor to which Mcintosh shrugged, getting the next set of balls sorted.

Outside the windows, the orderly fields got wilder, morphing into woods and soft hills. On their compartment, each of the contestants took turns to toss a ball their assigned color to move the first one closer to the golden one that was on the far end. By the end of the third turn, Rapunzel had a clear advantage over the others and Merida’s last turn had done nothing to change it. Apparently the difference between rounded objects and her arrows were more pronounced than she thought at the beginning.

Rapunzel had taken each of her balls without her original hesitation and was clearly enjoying herself by the time hers was declared the winner. Merida didn’t know what to expect, as she knew how the Gobstones ended but all of the balls merely vibrated a lot, like crewcut’s had done before. The four of them looked at each other.

The door slammed suddenly, startling them all.

“What has been happening?” A pretty older girl with black straight hair came through. She already had her robe and sported a badge similar to Mcintosh’s on her breast.

Something about the extra vibrations must have activated the balls because they all released at once a putrid gas that filled the carriage in seconds.

“What the bloody…!” The girl had gotten the worse dose so her eyes were tearing and she tried hard not to cough. Or breathe.

The group opened the windows, causing the gas to disperse as the early night air came inside. The sky had already turned a light purple color. Through crying eyes, the girl managed to focus on Macintosh’s figure.

“I should have figured.” She said, angrily. “You’re a Prefect! You’re supposed to set an example, not to encourage this sort of behavior. And on first years nonetheless!”

“Relax, Vicki.” Mcintosh approached her with a conciliatory gesture. It was painfully obvious that nothing about it was welcome. “No harm was done.”

“Bolloks! You call this no harm done! It’s my new robe!” She screamed. “I won’t let this go by easily.”

“Geroff, Vector.” The Gryffindor guy said. Somehow he had gotten inside Merida and Rapunzel compartment and had his feet off the division. “What are you accusing us of?”

None of the balls was anywhere in sight. Except for a remnant stingy smell, there was no evidence of anything happening in there. The girl bristled in anger and pointed an accusatory finger at Mcintosh. The boy didn’t do a good job of feigning innocence.

“Like I wouldn’t find whatever you tossed at me. I’m sure is something against the rules or you wouldn’t had hidden it.”

“Yah, sure, but like me, ye still don’t have tae authority ‘till we meet with tae Heads.” Mcintosh pointed out.

“Plus, what’ll you do if one of the girls ends up in Slytherin?” The Gryffindor guy interjected. “Start the year with your House on the negatives?”

The girl threw a killer glare at Merida and Rapunzel. The blond girl squirmed again behind Dunbroch.

“You’re new, right?” The Prefect girl yelled more than asked. Merida winced but held her gaze. “Fine. Whatever. If you keep associating with the likes of Mcintosh and Rider, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.” She left, slamming the door so hard it got unhinged.

“I’ll see that she dinnae chew some poor innocent’s head off.” Mcintosh followed the girl quickly and crew cut went behind him, trying to cover the big sack he held.

“Good one, both of you.” Except for the girls, the only one remaining was the guy from Gryffindor. “She’s probably right though I wouldn’t mind seeing both of you being sorted into Gryffindor.”

After he left, Merida turned to eye Rapunzel, who was hiding behind a curtain of blond hair.

“Ye ‘kay? Sorry abuit th’.” She said, worried.

“That was awesome!” Rapunzel jumped, taking Merida’s hands in hers. “I never knew school was going to be this exiting!” She let go of Merida and started rubbing a piece of her hair that had gotten loose. “I mean, not the last part. That was scary. I wouldn’t like to be expelled or something.”

Merida smirked. “Ye just don’t get caught. Ye know? Tha’ bloke was right abuit sumethin’. I wouldn’t mind sharing a House with ye.”

“Whichever it is?” Rapunzel asked, letting go of her hair and offering her hand.

“Whichever it is.” Merida answered, taking it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one has volunteered as a beta, so feel free to point any mistakes you might find. Read ya next time!


	3. The Sorting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ritual of the Sorting is held anew, this time with the lamest song the Hat has ever composed.

Still commenting on the train journey, giant Gobstones and how lucky they were that their robes didn’t get to smell like a troll’s arse, Merida and Rapunzel changed into their respective uniforms and, true enough, they felt the machine slowing down.

“We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately.” A magically enhanced voice came through.

While Rapunzel busied herself with shoving the rest of their feast onto her pockets, Merida finally rummaged throughout her trunk in search for her wand. There was no way she was going to go around without it any longer.

“Hurry!” Rapunzel exclaimed when the Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop.

They weren’t the only ones to have that idea. Hundreds of students were already trying to push their way out of their compartments, cramming the corridors. Rapunzel took Merida’s hand to make sure they weren’t separated in the river of bodies driving them to a small and thin platform. It was a chilly night, provoking the students to hurl together as they got out, making it harder to know the way they should take.

“I think we should go there.”

As Merida was following the larger group, Rapunzel spotted a smaller one being left behind.

“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!”

The booming voice caught their attention as did the lamp that floated over their heads, proving Rapunzel right. Without letting go of each other’s hands, the girls followed the small crowd as it gathered around a giant of a man. He was even bigger than Merida’s father, who was considered huge by the Ministry’s standard. Even more, he had a lot of dark hair surrounding him in a mess of beard and bushy eyebrows, making him a big blur of hair everywhere.

“Firs’ years follow me!” He boomed again. “Mind yer steps too!”

He started down a steep path, made more slippery by a recent rain, and everyone followed him slowly. Rapunzel and Merida tried to get closer by dodging the students before them but the trail was too narrow and uneven to get too far. A boy in front of them managed to fall to the floor, dragging another boy and a girl, who would have started cussing if the man hadn’t spoken first.

“Here yeh go. Yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts!”

He had stopped at a bent on the road that drove them to the edge of a great black lake. At the other shore, a huge castle loomed on top of a mountain. The windows glittered all over the stone walls and on the many towers and turrets that made it up, matched by a distorted but still recognizsable reflection on the lake water.

Every kid of a winzarding family imagined and dreamt of the day they would come to the castle, picturing it on their minds. Merida’s stood short against the magnificence of the real one and, as per Rapunzel’s bewildered expression and the loud “Ooooh!” that had accompanied the view, so did everyone else’s.

“No more’n four to a boat.” Their guide announced, making Merida spot the fleet of little boats waiting for them on the lake shore.

The girls took one, followed by two others. One of them had a round face and a bushy reddish brown mop of hair while the other one was dirty blond and had huge protuberant eyes.

“Everyone in?” The man asked. He had a boat to himself because not even a first year was able to fit there. “Right then. FORWARD!”

All boats started moving at once. They glided swiftly across the water, barely disturbing it. Small rumors and expressions of wonder were heard here and there, everyone watching the magic castle grow as the approached the cliff it was perched on. Rapunzel squeezed Merida’s hand, her mouth open and her eyes reflecting the windows lights almost as good as the lake surface had. Merida smiled and returned the gesture.

“Heads down!” The man yelled again, as the first boats reached the cliff.

Merida would have missed the order but Rapunzel pulled her head down, thus avoiding her already unruly hair to get tangled with the ivy curtain that hid a wide opening on the cliff’s face. The trip continued along a dark tunnel that ran underneath the castle until they reached an underground natural harbor consistent of rock and pebbles. It was a lot more slippery than the other shoreline had been. Another student tripped, provoking a lot of sneers from the trio following him. Merida was about to say something but Rapunzel pulled her excitedly; she was taking advantage of the momentary chaos to come up to the front.

The first years followed the man’s lamp through a passage on the rock, coming out onto a damp stretch of grass right in the shadow of the castle and then up a flight of stone steps were they were crowded again, this time in front of a huge oaken front door. The man then proceeded to knock three times with his gigantic fist.

The door opened wide at the signal, a young man standing at the middle. He had a slightly rounded face and friendly eyes that made him look somewhat paternal. He was also tall but in a normal way, not like the man that had brought them there. Their guide faltered for a brief moment, he seemed confused to see the other man open the door.

“The firs’ years, Professor Longbottom.” The bigger man said, pointing at the closest kids.

Murmurs immediately sprang to life, without mattering how nervous they were. Everyone coming from a wizarding family could recognize that name.

“Thank you, Professor Hagrid. We’ll go from here.” Professor Longbottom was swift on his response, avoiding any more commotion.

He stood out of the way, allowing the small crowd of students to enter. Merida couldn’t stop looking around, wanting to absorb everything around her. If the castle’s exterior had being imposing, it was nothing compared to the interior. She had been to manors of different important families but even the bigger one would fit comfortably within the spacious walls lined with torches. Which was even more impressive, considering this place had almost gotten down to its foundations barely eight years ago.

Neither the walls, ceiling, nor the huge marble staircase on the farthest end bared sign of it. Merida’s mother had commented about talk in the Governors Board of putting some kind of tribute to those that fought here. It had been heavily opposed in the end by most of the staff. Even if the Second Wizarding War was the most recent, it wasn’t the first war Hogwarts had faced. Keeping a monument on the Entrance Hall would only be a constant reminder of the War, lost relatives and an excuse to keep wounds open.

Professor Longbottom made them follow him across the room, their feet clapping softly on the stone floor. The group passed alongside a huge double doorway from which the sound of hundreds of voices was audible, sharing light about where the rest of the students were gathered.

“Wait, where are we headed?” Someone on the front asked. Merida hasn’t been the only one to hear the voices.

“You’ll see soon enough.” The Professor answered cheerfully as he crowded them all again on a side chamber. “First of all, welcome to Hogwarts. The rest of the students are gathered for the start-of-term banquet but you won’t be able to join them until we have determined which House you’ll be in.”

An excited murmur started to form again, and again the Professor stopped it by continuing his explanation. This time though, he used a monochord tone that gave up memorization and repetition.

“Sorting is a very important ceremony because while you’re here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You’ll have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory and spend your free time in your House common room.

“The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.” For each name, he raised a finger on his right hand. “Each has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you’re at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, which is a great honor.”

By the last part of his speech he was getting out of air, reinforcing the fact that he was merely reciting from memory, much like Merida did when she had to recite precepts on behavior or the like.

“Just make sure you honor your House while you’re here. We’ll begin shortly and don’t worry; the Sorting Ceremony is nothing to be afraid of. I’ll return when we’re ready for you.”

He left through another door, different from the one they had entered.

“Did he tell us how they sort us?” asked a girl, the one that had been pushed when the first boy fell. She had blond hair tightly secured on a braid and all her robes were soiled with mud.

“No, he didn’t.” A boy with a pink face with a round nose and dark brown hair pointed.

Now that she thought about it, Merida wasn’t sure about the procedure either. She had discussed with her parents about what House she would be in, not about how it was decided.

“Well, the Professor said not to worry.” Another boy, leaning on a corner pointed. He had short pale-blond hair, spiked everywhere. “It shouldn’t be that hard.”

Some of them were actually reassured but not all. Rapunzel took again Merida’s hand.

“What happens if we don’t fit in any House?” She asked. “Do we get sent home again?”

One of the girls that had laughed at the boy that tripped on the harbor laughed at her, making Merida frown. She had a pointy jaw with a dimple on it and straight brown hair.

“You probably end up in Hufflepuff if that’s the case.” The girl said with an unpleasant tone. She was accompanied by another girl and a boy. Both of them laughed with her.

“Hey! That’s…!”

“The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Follow me.” If Professor Longbottom noticed he had just barely stopped a fight, he didn’t show it.

Merida fell behind the boy that had fallen on the harbor, he still looked quite crestfallen, and Rapunzel got after her. They crossed the second set of doors onto the Great Hall. Hundreds of faces turned to them, distributed over four long tables prepared with golden plates and goblets for each one. Ghosts floated around, apparently as interested in them as the rest of the students.

It was only when Merida saw herself in there, thousands of floating candles above her head and a stormy sky that wasn’t about to chill her to the bone, that she finally realized that she was indeed in Hogwarts. She was ready to start her biggest adventure and she already had someone to share it with.

Professor Longbottom brought a four legged stool and placed it on the front, where everyone on the Great Hall would be able to look at it. On top, he put a ragged, dirty old wizard hat. Merida wasn’t sure what was expected of them at that point. A rip appeared near the brim of the hat, making it look as if it had a mouth.

A mouth it was indeed, for the hat started to sing.

_An ugly hat you see standing here_

_Only, there’s only one like me_

_See, I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_For years my judgment stands tall._

_I’ll sort you according to what_

_You have laying underneath._

_Here we go, were would you be?_

_Will your place be along_

_The Gryffindor brave and bold?_

_Perhaps you fray best_

_With the Ravenclaw wise?_

_Are you ambitious as a Slytherin?_

_Or a Hufflepuff loyal and true?_

_Sorting you is my work_

_But you like to split on your own._

_To this, a small tip I let slip_

_Above the Lion and the Eagle,_

_Sooner than the Badger or the Snake_

_Was the Winged Hog that gathered you here!_

The whole Hall filled with an enthusiastic applause and murmurs. The hat just contented itself with bowing once to each table. After that, it just lay still.

“Trying on an ol’ hat. Is tha’ it?” Merida asked, confused.

“Professor Longbottom did actually say that it was nothing to worry about.” Rapunzel tried to conciliate her. “Do you think it’ll let us choose?”

“When I call your name, get in front and put up the hat to be sorted.” Professor Longbottom said, unraveling a long roll of parchment. “Anderson, April.”

A shy girl with a fringe covering her eyes stepped forward to put on the hat. It fell all the way to her nose. It took a while, with everyone watching for the hat to say something.

“RAVENCLAW!” It shouted.

The second to the left table was the first one to burst on applauses and cheering as they welcomed their new member.

“Barry, Morticia.”

This time was a dark skinned girl with dreadlocks. She looked defiantly at the tables before the hat covered her eyes. In her case, the answer was almost immediate.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The left table took their time cheering. Before it had gone out completely, Professor Longbottom called the next name on the list.

“Bradley, Oscar.”

He went to Ravenclaw and the list continued. Bundy, Kristen, the girl with the dimpled chin, was the first one to be sorted into Slytherin. The second to the right table had their chance to cheer as she joined their ranks. Merida’s nerves were actually calming down. Trying an old hat wasn’t much of a challenge and she wouldn’t care much which of the Houses she ended up in. ‘Burke’ and ‘Cardelle’ went to Gryffindor; ‘Chamber’ and ‘Choplin’ both went to Ravenclaw and ‘Conrad’ became the first Hufflepuff, giving the right table their opportunity to welcome a new member.

At last the Professor came to the name.

“Corona, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel’s name roused some rumors that haven’t been heard before, despite being impossible to decipher what was being said from where they stood. No doubt it was the spreading her story to those that didn’t knew it already. Rapunzel gave Merida a last squeeze before letting go of her hand, a small smile on her face. When she finally reached the stool and the Professor was about to put the hat on her head, Rapunzel wore much the same expression she had when she had taken the purple Gobstone on the train. The hat felt to her nose and it took a while for it to announce loud and clear for all the Great Hall to hear.

“RAVENCLAW!”

Drat. Suddenly, Merida’s hand felt incredibly cold without Rapunzel’s in it. She had gone to probably the only House Merida had zero chance to get in.

Without knowing her new friend’s mental struggle, Rapunzel beamed when the hat was taken from her head. She gave Merida a thumbs up sign before joining April at her cheering new table.

In the meantime, Dorny, Joseph got sorted to Gryffindor. Then, it was her turn.

“Dunbroch, Merida.”

_Here goes nothing._ She thought, going to the front with long, confident strides. Merida sat on the stool and located Rapunzel sitting on the Ravenclaw table, given her a reassuring smile. Professor Longbottom put the hat on her head but it took a bit of tugging to get it past her hair so that her eyes were covered. Everything was black inside.

“ _Well, not a hard one to place. Lots of courage, no doubt and a headstrong heart._ ” A small voice whispered into her ear. Merida panicked.

_Ravenclaw, please send me to Ravenclaw. Please!_

“ _This_ is _interesting_.” The voice continued. “ _You are the second person today to ask for a House where you would not shine. And you are indeed aware that Ravenclaw is not your place. What is it? A friend? Well, I do advice you to not let me interfere with you there. You are definitely a_ – GRYFFINDOR!”

The last word had been shouted at the entire Hall. Merida took out the hat and walked shakily to her designed table. She was able to exchange a sad smile with Rapunzel before she was caught up on the Griffindor’s embrace. All of them were cheering for her, including the guy from the train, so she got caught up on it quickly. By the time ‘Fellner, Leanne’ was sorted into Gryffindor after seven whole minutes with the hat, Merida was as enthusiastic as the rest of them.

The Sorting Ceremony continued and Merida took the time while ‘Fleet, Herbert’ was on the stool to study the High Table. Of the people seated there, she could only recognize the one that had guided them trough the lake, even though she didn’t know which the subject he taught was. Professor Hagrid took up one of the table sides all for himself, followed by a young dark-skinned woman. Merida could only guess the about the Headmistress, whom she thought had to be the one sitting on a golden high chair at the center. She was a stern woman with a severe look on her. Definitely the image she had for Professor McGonagall.

“Frost, Jack.” Professor Longbottom claimed.

The Great Hall went to silence so sudden that Merida’s attention snapped back to the ceremony. Curios as about why, she eyed the boy as he got to the stool to receive the Sorting Hat. He had been the one that tried to reassure the whole group back when they were waiting on the antechamber. In the dime-light, Merida had guessed him to have pale-blond hair but in the full-lit Great Hall it looked silver. Was that even possible?

“Really?” A voice came from one of the students close to her. “Frost? As in _the_ Nicholas North Frost?”

Merida eyed the boy again as the hat was put above his eyes. She did recognize the Name Nicholas North. He was a powerful wizard and even more than that, a philanthropist. He had taken to himself a huge part of the effort to counteract the Ministry of Magic campaign against Muggles and Mugggleborns during the last years of the Second Winzarding War. Indeed a name to bring silence to the Great Hall. However Merida squished her brains for the extra tidbit of information, she couldn’t recall about him having a son.

For just the split of the second, Merida wished she had paid more attention to her mother’s lectures. She dismissed the thought just as quickly. It was highly improbable that being on top with the gossiping would help her either with Charms or Transfiguration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I still don't have a beta, feel free to point any mistakes you might find.


	4. What DID go wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup's painfully reminded why you never even think that infamous phrase.

In the opposite side of the Hall and still in the line waiting to be sorted, Hiccup watched Jack Frost’s sorting with the same interest he’d done the others. On the contrary, the Great Hall seemed to hold its breath while the Hat made its choice.

“SLYTHERIN!” Came the verdict.

Some of the kids had taken a lot of time to be sorted into either of the Houses and some had been assigned as soon as the hat touched their heads. Jack Frost’s had come up rather quickly.

He made a great deal of returning the Hat to the Professor to be given to ‘Grant, Page’ and going to the Slytherin table. Frost walked with confidence and a smirk on his face that could be read all too clearly. He wasn’t the one to be happy to be sorted there. The Slytherins were the ones that had to be glad he had been chosen to join them. Frost’s confidence didn’t falter, even if his sorting had the coldest reception so far. The Slytherin table hadn’t been the most enthusiastic during the Ceremony but now they took it to a completely different level. At least, that had been the impression Hiccup got of the exchange.

In any case, Hiccup wished he had at least half of his confidence. Unlike the shiny Jack Frost, Hiccup looked miserable. His robes were covered entirely in mud, thanks to his earlier fall, and was sure that nearly no color remained on his face by now. He was shaking too and there was no reason form him to blame it on the cold. Hiccup lifted his gaze to the ceiling, where ominous black clouds twisted in silence. With all his might, he concentrated on the image he conjured before. Had it only been this morning?

He was a Gryffindor. Stoic was proud of him.

Silence struck the Hall again and he was snapped to attention.

“Haddock?” Professor Longbottom asked, scanning the remaining first years on the line.

With a jolt, Hiccup realized he had missed his call and, his face burning, took a step forward. The Professor urged him to get to the stool and put the Hat over his head.

“ _Gryffindor, huh?_ ” Hiccup could hear a small voice coming somewhere on the inside of the blackness that was the Hat. “ _You sure dream big, kid and I’ll make sure you achieve it. That’s why I think you’ll be better in_ HUFFLEPUFF!”

Hiccup’s heart sank as he heard the last part being told for the all the Hall to hear. His _wonderful_ luck strikes again. Four Houses to choose from and he was sorted onto the one everyone made fun of. Kirsten Bundy had made it painfully obvious barely minutes before.

Hiccup had had enough of being fun of. He didn’t get much time to fume or think, though. As he felt the tug of the Hat being lifted from his head, he pulled it back down by mere instinct.

_NO!_

He thought, as loudly as he could. _Ravenclaw! Put me in Ravenclaw! Even in Slytherin!_

“ _Bold of you, no doubt._ ” The voice returned. “ _And Ravenclaw material too, I can tell. However, I stick to my choice. You are a Hufflepuff. Off you go, kid._ ”

The muffled sounds Hiccup had barely been aware off while _talking_ to the hat, suddenly went full volume. Even worse, most of it was clearly laughing. The worst part was that, it was him they were laughing at.

In front of the entire Great Hall of Hogwarts, Hiccup let go of the rim of the hat, which he was using to keep it securely on his head. This caused Professor Longbottom to stumble as he was still trying to pull it off. Laughs filled the Hall from every table while the Professor regained his footing and went on to check his name off the list.

Face down and burning, Hiccup made his way to the Hufflepuff table and collapsed onto one of the empty seats as far off of the High Table as he could manage. He felt everyone’s eyes on him but it couldn’t be right. Someone was being sorted and at least someone had to be paying attention to that.

Just his luck again. Hofferson, Astrid was the girl he had toppled before and made sure to give him the nastiest look she could muster. He thought he had gotten used to the sensation of wanting the earth to swallow him whole but he was proven wrong. Again.

He smacked his face on his still empty golden plate.

“High expectations, huh?” A chubby girl with glasses asked, changing her seat for the empty one on Hiccup’s left.

“Eh? What?” He asked, still crestfallen. To be honest, he would rather be left alone and didn’t feel much like talking but the girl fixed on him her blue eyes. She wasn’t going to let go.

“It happens a lot.” She said. “Almost nobody really wants to be a Hufflepuff when they arrive. There’re some that don’t really care as long as they’re sorted, and Muggleborns by general rule don’t know enough to get a bad opinion. But there’re a LOT of people like you.” Reluctantly, Hiccup found himself enthralled by her words. “Either by yourself or because of someone else, you believe that the only way to achieve great things is being in _any_ other House than Hufflepuff.”

She gave Hiccup a poke with her elbow, urging him to applaud when Rowle, William, the other boy he had pushed with his fall, was sorted into Hufflepuff. Unlike Hiccup, he beamed, as if there wasn’t any place he’ll rather be. He took a seat a couple of spaces away from Hiccup and got his hair tousled by an older boy.

“However, I’ll give you some credit. You’re the first one to make your disgust known so publicly.” The girl on Hiccup’s left continued.

“Not how I wanted to be remembered.” He answered, annoyed again.

“Then don’t.” The girl said, categorically and surprising Hiccup once more. “Hogwarts isn’t constructed like that. You’ll get plenty of chances to prove yourself. It’s up to you to seize them. And when you succeed, you can either say it was _because_ or _despite_ being in Hufflepuff. It’s your choice.” She forced him to clap again when a girl with mousy brown hair called Danielle Walker found her ways towards the chair in front of him. “All I ask is that you give us a chance. You’ll be surprised, we even managed to win the House Cup last year.”

Hiccup actually smiled at her exaggerated confident gesture. She then turned to give a personalized welcome the newest students. It also matched up to when Winters, Brian, the last boy on the line, was sorted to Slytherin. The Sorting Ceremony had come to an end.

Professor Longbottom cleared the stool and the Hat, giving space to a tall, severe looking witch embedded on deep green robes, square glasses and the hair pulled into a really tight bun at the nape of her neck.

“I would like to welcome you all to Hogwarts, whether you are returning or are here for the first time.” She had a stern voice and she smiled to accompany her words but, somehow, Hiccup felt as she was sizing every student gathered on the Great Hall individually. “Before we have the chance to enjoy the start-of-term banquet, I am afraid I have to give you a few short notices. First of all, as always, the Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, as are some of the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. You can find the list on the office of our caretaker. Using magic in the corridors or in-between classes is also prohibited.”

“On a brighter note, the Quidditch tryouts will be scheduled for the second week, so I advise you to check the bulletin board on your respective Common Room for more information. And finally, I will ask you to enjoy your meal.”

“Well, that’s Professor McGonagall for you. She’s Hogwarts Headmistress.” The chubby girl said for the new arrivals’ sake. “In any case, you’ll do well on following her advice.”

Hiccup hadn’t realized how hungry he was until the platters in front of him suddenly filled with the most varied meals he could put a name on, and some he couldn’t. He was as amazed by the quantities and the way they appeared, as much as the new Muggleborns that had also been sorted to Hufflepuff were. When his mother had been alive, she had often used magic to cook, but it had been a long time since he saw such an example of magic applied to a mundane, everyday thing. Add that to the fact that, even if he was never left to starve, cooking wasn’t Stoic’s strong suit at all. They actually ate better when it was Hiccup’s turn to prepare the food.

Hiccup started small, putting on his plate little portions of everything that was close to him. His effort didn’t last long, for as soon as he tried his first spoonful, he changed his strategy to just stacking his plate with bacon, sausages, lamb and a funny looking fried fish. Maybe it was his chance to finally gain a bit of muscle. Or a heart attack. It made no difference; everything was delicious.

“Yeah, that’s Professor Spinnet. You’ll have her for Defense Against the Dark Arts and the one next to her is Professor Hagrid. You won’t have him until your third year and only if you take Care of Magical Creatures.” Hiccup caught up a bit of the conversation between one of the older students and Shane Mayborne, one of the first years.

On Hiccup’s left side, the chubby girl was busy explaining what where the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes to Opal Jones and on the other, there was a discussion over which of the Quidditch teams had a better lineup for the next season. They even asked Hiccup’s opinion until he confessed that he hadn’t been following the League; but they were just as well inclined to fill him in. There were some older students commenting on the Hat’s song, which apparently was kind of odd, for a singing Hat.

Conversation erupted all around him and more than one made him part of them, if just a bit, before they moved on to the next. It was definitely a big plus to his old life, so the sorting into Hufflepuff started to fell slightly less like a death sentence. In his last school, he had been constantly shunned by his peers due to the weird things that happened around him and his tendency to blow up science and art projects, even without the aid of untamed magic. Here, the environment was completely different, and everyone made an effort to include the new ones, giving advice and tips or telling anecdotes and stories of their own.

Hiccup was already full by the time every food platter was filled with pastries, sweets and tons of ice cream. It didn’t prevent him from eating as much as he had before. An athletic guy with a round nose, green eyes and a lot of freckles rose from his seat and came to stand in front of Hiccup and behind a couple of the first years, putting an arm around each.

“Hello there!” He said, cheerfully. “Is Prefect Saph already giving you newbies instructions?”

“Shut up!” The chubby girl on Hiccup’s left responded, slightly pink. It was the first time Hiccup noticed the bright P badge on yellow and black that was on her chest. “Yes, I’m a Prefect. My name’s Sapphire Grint. This is…”

“Logan Mirkwood.” He interrupted her. “Your regular fifth year. What about you? Let’s see… Danielle, Opal, Shane, Hebert, Alexis…”

“Hiccup.” It was now Hiccup’s turn to interrupt when he saw Logan point at him as he had done with the rest. Logan looked at him curiously.

“Hiccup? Really?” Hiccup nodded. “‘ll right then, Hiccup. Next are Lexi, William, Pluto and Pearl. Am I right?”

“Yeah!” Opal, applauded as she had seen everyone nod at the correct mention of their name. Logan responded with a mock bow.

“Thank you lass! I’ll be here all year!”

“Stop fooling around.” Sapphire cut him, though she didn’t seem that mad. “You’ll end up without dessert.”

“Not a problem.” He responded. “Too stuffed now and the elves will still have some later.”

“You _aren’t_ going to…” Sapphire began.

They didn’t figure out the rest of the sentence, as the desserts also, disappeared from their plates and the table was once again clear. The Headmistress stood up again and the Great Hall was drawn to silence by just that. Logan quietly slipped back to his seat.

“Once again, I welcome all of you to Hogwarts.” Professor McGonagall said. “Now, to bed you go. As of next Monday, I expect you all to do your utmost to improve your education.”

“Come on guys, follow me.” Sapphire herded the first years together. “I’ll show you to our common room.”

Hiccup rolled with the group as the students agglomerated around the double doors that led out of the Great Hall. All the excitement and the food had left Hiccup awfully tired with nothing more on his mind than a comfy bed to collapse in for the night. Rather than the other Prefect, Logan was the one to join them as they followed Sapphire. A large portion of the student body went up the marble staircase, but the new Hufflepuffs were instead guided down one of the secondary set of steps, to the basement level. There, they had to follow a narrow pathway to a shadowy stone recess where a pile of barrels were stacked on a nook on the wall. Hiccup was sure he wouldn’t be the only one to pass by if Sapphire hadn’t stopped and pointed specifically at them, despite there being a small ring of Hufflepuff students waiting on some sort of queue.

“Here.” Sapphire said when they finally got to the barrels, pointing at them. “Two from the bottom; middle of the second row. Now pay attention to this. It’s important.”

She tapped the barrel she had indicated. Two quick taps, a pause and then three more. As she did this, the lid swung open, revealing another narrow, dark passageway.

“The rhythm is what matters the most.” Sapphire explained. “It hasn’t changed since Hogwarts founding and it won’t change in the future, but you have to be precise.”

“Yeah,” Logan quipped. “You don’t wanna become _saladdies._ ”

“What’s a _saladdie_?” Pluto asked.

Sapphire was about to respond but Logan covered her mouth.

“If you mess up with the rhythm, you’ll find out.” He answered, mischievously. “Now, come on, after you.”

They took turns to crawl through the passageway. When Hiccup reached the end, he found himself on the first of three circular tiers, the largest one on the farthest end. It was like nothing he had seen before. A couple of steps separated each of the tiers, making them seem somewhat independent of each other. All of them were filled with the puffiest and inviting chairs and puffs, all in yellow. There were some study tables and bookcases too, at least two on each tier, more on the bigger ones. The biggest chimney Hiccup had seen in his life was there too, making the warm yellow tones warmer and shadows dance soothingly around. It played well with what appeared to be a soft breeze wheezing a dandelion field at nighttime on the round windows scattered throughout.

That had to be magic, since by all of Hiccup’s calculations they were still in the basement of the castle.

People were still around, toasting marshmallows on the fireplace but they were few. The new students were gathered on the second tier. Trees that might as well be real coated the walls. Small flowers that smelled like warm beer. Ivy and shrubby plants, all turning towards a huge lamp on the ceiling that bathed them on a silvery light. Round portraits in all the walls, most of them of people fast asleep. There was something to look everywhere.

“Bu you cépest my dears, for you are in incer bail now. Hit will bone steede Common Room come morrow, hwonne you instendeep awake anew.”

Hiccup realized he was gawking but so where the majority of the first years that accompanied him. Lexi’s eyes looked like they would fall out of her sockets as she pointed to the biggest portrait of a motherly black woman on a huge outdated yellow dress. Opal also paled at making the connection of whom spoke to them, while William sniggered at their disbelief. Hiccup kept to himself but was as surprised as them. While he had seen magic photographs and knew about them moving around, it was his first time facing a talking portrait.

Sapphire got in front of them and ushered to divide in two groups, taking the lead of the girls.

“Might as well follow our Founder’s advice. Plenty of time to getting used to your Common Room when you haven’t been traveling all day.”

“So that was Helga Hufflepuff.” Alexis murmured to some other girl while they were lead through a round door to their right. Hiccup looked again at the portrait, sure enough finding the golden plate with the Founder’s name at the bottom. The Woman made him an encouraging gesture, motioning to the left of the room, where Logan was guiding the boys through another round door.

“That’s your door. The fourth one.” Logan pointed to the end of a narrow hallway with a rounded ceiling. “Fifth years are two doors away in that direction.” He pointed to the other one. “Feel free to ask if you need anything and bathrooms are on that end. Night everyone!” He waited for all of the boys to enter before turning to his own side of the hallway.

The bedroom was also circular, neatly separated on five identical sections with a set of shelves, drawers and a wooden trunk at the foot of beds embedded in nooks on the wall. All with heavy sets of yellow curtains.

“They already bought our stuff.” Herbert pointed out, unnecessarily. The others were already reading the labels to figure out the arrangements.

Shane and Pluto had some kind of scuffle about the right to the center bed but Hiccup had been out of it as soon as he got a sight of the inviting mattress. He rummaged for his pajamas, taking care of not losing the note he found pinned to his trunk.

He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a complete Hiccup chapter for whoever missed him. So far, I still have no beta so feel free to point any mistakes.  
> Read ya next time…

**Author's Note:**

> The idea isn't mine either. It started with a post on Tumblr that got expanded and finally came to my attention thanks to secondlina's awesome art.  
> I edited just a little bit the already published chapters, which means I could very likely undone a lot of LilymeetGinny’s (my original Beta) work in order to adapt it a bit to my current style. English isn’t my first language and I’m back to not having a Beta. If you either would like to help me by becoming a Beta or find any mistakes, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It goes as well for pacing, interpretations of events and characters or plot holes.


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